Laura Monica

How I want to influence the fitness industry and the public that stretching belongs to everyone, independent of ‘yoga.’ WholyFit is a program that is better than yoga for those who do not believe yoga religious teachings. WholyFit is a stretching class respected by the fitness industry and always taught completely outside of a classical yoga environment.

Does yoga make you stressed out? Is it uncomfortable for you to participate in yoga practices and teachings as a Christ-follower? Many other Christians feel this way, but many secular people are uncomfortable with the spiritual practices of yoga too! In my experience all yoga certifications eventually teach the philosophies either subtly or outright.  All 3 different yoga classes I attended had a statue of a ‘god’ in the studio, whether it be a Buddha in a christian-lead Bikram class, the Shiva poster or the elephant god with flower offerings. These day I literally cannot stand to be in the presence of idols. It is grief I feel, not condemnation, when I see people practicing religious beliefs that I know to be false. My heart hurts to see people serving inanimate carvings of wood or stone. At the very least idols cannot help these people and in the worst case, are a roosting place for demons.

My own personal dream is a revival brought about first in church WholyFit classes and spreading worldwide. I dream that those who are trying so hard to find a universal spirit will realize that God is a personal, intimate lover of their souls, with personality and character that is always faithful and true. Jesus came to give us life and I pray that as you read this you will throw away anything you need to in order to gain Jesus and be able to help others to understand Him better. I pray that we as christians will proclaim a true message about who we are and what we believe to a dying world, especially to lost people whom Jesus died to bring to Himself.

Samahdi – to become one with a universal spirit.
The Bible teaches that our spirits come alive forever through Jesus alone.

Kundalini – to unleash a potentially dangerous serpent power.
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes as gently as a dove to those who accept Jesus.

Karma – that the universe has spiritual power to cause equilibrium.
The Bible teaches that God is the master of the universe, the ultimate Judge with eternal power and perspective.

Chakras – that the body has energy channels that can be spiritually manipulated to reach Samahdi.
The Bible teaches that the spirit is dead until made alive by Jesus. This is what “being born again” means.

Mantras – yoga meditation is Transcendental meditation which teaches the repetition of the names of Hindu gods.
The Bible teaches that repetition has no power and that Believers in the One True and Living God should never have the names of any gods on our lips.

Reincarnation – that death is a portal to rebirth as another being.
The Bible, in fact Jesus Himself teaches that it is appointed to us once to die and after that comes judgement.

Many Paths to God – that it is intolerant to reject any and all religious belief systems, which means yoga accepts every religion except for Christianity.
The Bible teaches, and it was Jesus Himself who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus is the most tolerant, loving, patient person who ever walked the earth, was without sin, and gave His life for the sins of everyone in the world.

Jesus died in our place, a torturous death, to give us His righteousness in place of our own imperfection, in order to bring us to God by faith alone – not by mantras, not by chanting, not by harsh treatment of the body which has no power in it at all for righteousness. Yoga teaches religion, but there is no power in it to save people for all eternity. I have personal experience that  Jesus is the only way to God and that He gave His life for all, including dear yoga people, He loves them but they are turning to false gods instead of Him. I just can’t bear to be a part of that -ever! I will not promote anything to do with yoga because it might influence someone into yoga philosophical teachings. Eternity is at stake.

Many people go to yoga when they are sick, but it is not yoga that heals, it is exercise. Exercise is God’s good medicine. When Dr.s suggest yoga, what they are really suggesting is gentle exercise and stretching – not belief in mantras, chanting!

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.  – James 5:14-15a

Those words came alive to me and suddenly I believed that they were true – for me – RIGHT NOW. I asked the Lord if He would please get the elders of the church to pray for me even though I had never seen “laying on of hands” type of ministry happening at this Baptist church before. The following Sunday my mouth literally dropped wide open when from the pulpit, Pastor Bryant said, “You know we don’t normally do this, but I have felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to hold a healing service Sunday night.” This was a huge church with thousands of people and God heard my little prayer! (Why is it we are so surprised when God answers our prayers?) I was hopeful that Jesus was really going to touch me.

 I was one of the first people to get there that Sunday night. When I walked through the doors I felt the sensation of a warm blanket around me and a peace that was incredible. I said something like this to  the Lord, “Wow this is wonderful. This might be better than the healing!”  My natural body’s response to His awesome presence was the outpouring of tears from my eyes, not in sobs, but in something like streams of water pouring from an endless source.   I have since come to experience this at other times and now and I’ve nick-named it “Holy Spirit tears.”

 The pastor asked me what I suffered from and was very compassionate to say that he was sorry that I had to deal with Epstein Barre Virus. His empathy was incredibly comforting in and of itself. Then he said something I’ll never forget. He said, “I am going to pray for you and if you get well, I want you to understand that it had nothing to do with me. Jesus is the One who does the healing.”   Then he laid hands on me, anointed me with oil and prayed a simple prayer for healing in the Name of Jesus.

Jesus is the One who does the healing.

From that night on, I underwent a process of gradual supernatural healing. A lot of my healing has come through exercise.  Eventually I was well enough to start teaching stretching classes at that very church, sharing my story freely with the participants. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, chronic illness was the training that God used to reveal a mission He had planned for me: to administer His healing through exercise, His Word, worship and prayer.

 It has turned out to be the most effective and powerful exercise system I have ever used and yet it is gentle and nourishing. I’ve learned TO BE AN OVERCOMER: God used my weakness as opportunity to reveal His power working in me.  I can truly encourage you that as  you meditate on Scripture during exercise, you actually build your body with the Word of God, hope, life and peace. This has been my personal experience.

 So the exercise that was my answer to prayer was, and still is, the  gentle stretching exercises of WholyFit. And so, now over a decade later, I am even more convinced of the importance of WholyFit alternative to yoga.  Yoga teaches you to seek spiritual powers  that are greater than you,  for your healing. But those spiritual entities are not from God and are opposed to God. Jesus came to give life and to give life abundantly. Satan is the Destroyer. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. Only the God of the Bible can COMPLETELY heal you and make you whole. Any other powers may give you want you want, but in the end they are destructive to your soul. What good is a healthy, beautiful body if your whole soul, spirit and body go to Hell on the end? Jesus  has brought me to Himself and my relationship with Him is greater and more satisfying than anything on this earth, including health.

 If you are sick in body soul or spirit, Jesus is the only power greater than yourself who loves you so much that He gave His life for you. WholyFit is a way to get closer to Him and believe God’s Words, memorize them and get them into your body, into your neurons, into your synapses, into your heart for good. God’s word becomes a part of me as I memorized Scripture through movement. We associate the Words with certain moves so that it’s easier to memorize. This is how we meditate biblically. As we hold a stretch, we think on it and ask God to speak to us personally about it, and ask God to make it grow and produce fruit in our lives.

 So out on my patio, all alone with the Lord, I would put Scripture to stretches in standing and seated positions. These became WholyFit routines, each based on a Scripture that I wanted to become a part of me, part of my being, part of my very body and soul. The Bible teaches us to allow the Word of God to dwell in us richly. I Hide God’s Word in my heart so that I may not sin against Him. There is power there.  I am not able to live a good life apart from the power of God working in me. I can try and try but I am powerless to do good even when I want to do it. I had to get to the place where I realized this and admitted it to the Lord. Then I submit my will to God moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. When I look back I am so glad because the times I submit to God brings me the most happiness, the most health. The times I tried to do good on my own, were complete disasters!